Sakaya Aznya Ashwabara (Saka Nobles)
The Early Saka Nobles carry a spear beside their bows and both they and their horses wear some armour. That makes them flexible useful troops which are an effective complement of the ubiquitous horse archers. Description When the ruling class among the nomad Saka go to war, they do it as much for making a show as for winning the battle. Dressed in elaborate, gold embroidered coats, furnished with the finest Chinese silk and Persian cloth, and seated on war horses made all the more ferocious by their great antlers, the Saka Nobles stand ready to show their battle prowess against any foe who would dare face them. Hailing from the nobility and ruling classes of the nomad tribes, these men can devote much of their time to practice for riding and shooting, and can afford the best in armour available on the steppe. As such, they are elite warriors, and skilled at both engaging the enemy from afar with their bows, or in a melee with their axes. The nobles are dressed in fine clothes adorned with silk and leather details, and often with golden plaques and pendants attached, as a testament to the wealth and social status of the wearer. To protect the fine cloth of the pants while riding, they wear leather riding boots, or chaps. These particular boots were known among many nomadic peoples of the eastern steppes, and were in essence a pair of long, soft leather boots reaching half way across the thigh. The shoe part was often hardened to give some support to the foot while riding, and also accommodate getting of the horse to walk short distances. They wear coats of scale or lamellar armour, made of bronze or iron. The lamellar construction makes the armour very resistant to arrows and missiles, but still retains enough flexibility for its wearer to easily stretch a bow or close in for a melee. Some of the armours have shoulder protectors and high neck guards, protecting the wearer from blows from behind. On their heads, they wear distinctive peaked felt caps which terminate in the shape of birds, stags or dragons, giving them a further splash of grandeur on the battlefield. In addition to the essential composite bow, which they carry in a highly decorated leather case, or Gorytos, they carry Sagaris axes for battle in melee. These axes had long and narrow heads, excellent for penetrating armour, and were often carried in a special suspension system attached to the warrior's belt. They also carry short Akinakes daggers, unsuitable for cavalry combat, but useful for taking the scalp of a fallen enemy. The horses they ride are not just the regular steppe ponies, but majestic war horses. Some, no doubt, imported from the Fergana Valley, where it is said that the best war horses of eastern Transoxeiana are bred. To make their appearance even more fearsome, many of the horses have decorations attached to their harnesses and bridles, such as big antlers, wings, animal figures or felt straps in bright colours. Historically, the tribal communities on the steppe were based to a large degree on kinship, which has sometimes been suggested as a factor driving a more egalitarian society. However, in the larger context of steppe confederacies, the members of the clan that held the political and economic power were generally far more affluent and lived very different lives from those of the common herdsmen. That a wealthy noble class existed can be clearly deduced from the many well preserved Kurgan graves that have been excavated in the area, uncovering a wealth of golden artefacts and beautiful craftsmanship. These graves of chiefs and kings display both the fascination with colourful and beautiful art and clothing, and the fascination with war that was characteristic of the steppe tribes. The noblemen would often be buried along with their weapons and armour, several horses, carriages, livestock and supplies to accompany them into the afterlife, and the complexity and scale of the tombs testify to a society with sufficient social institutions to be able to shore up ample resources in the honour of their great men. One of the most well-known of these kurgan grave sites is Pazyryk in the Altai, where a number of wealthy and powerful men and women were buried. Due to the permafrost, and surprisingly to looting in ancient times, the tombs were preserved, and has given a wealth of objects that would otherwise have perished, such as clothing, foodstuffs, and even skin with tattoos. Some of the most interesting objects discovered were the elaborate and often slightly impractical hats, with high peaks and often adorned with images of birds, deer or even dragons. It is interesting to note that hats similar to these can be seen in the Gandhara art of northern India, which seems to hint that this kind of garment was widely used among the nobility of the steppes, and that the wearing of them, although perhaps primarily for ceremonial purposes, lived on even after the transition from nomadism to settled life. Category:Units Category:Units available only in EB2 Category:Saka